MILWAUKEE — The Mets’ strength is a deep and talented bullpen, but opportunities to fully utilize that weapon have been scant since it became fully stocked at the trade deadline.
On Saturday night, manager Carlos Mendoza went full throttle with the unit — starting rotation member Frankie Montas was bumped to a long-relief appearance — and the plan was working.
Until it stopped working.
A hellish seventh inning that included Ryan Helsley’s pitch-clock violation that negated the final out before William Contreras blasted a homer sent the Mets to the bottom of Lake Michigan in a 7-4 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field.
The Mets lost their sixth straight and have dropped 10 of 11 games overall.
“We just continue to make mistakes — we are not playing good baseball,” Mendoza said. “Especially when you are playing against a team like this, you give them extra outs, extra bases, they are going to make you pay. That happened today.”
Ryne Stanek flushed a 4-3 lead in the seventh — with a misplay by Ronny Mauricio at third base that generously was ruled an RBI single contributing — before Helsley entered with the Mets down a run and appeared to retire Contreras on a fly to right for the final out. But plate umpire Ryan Additon ruled that the pitch clock had expired, and the inning continued. Contreras launched the next pitch for a two-run homer.
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“I felt if it could go wrong, it did go wrong,” Helsley said, referring to the night. “But we have got a lot of guys in here that have played a lot of games, and we believe in ourselves. Games like this happen.”
Stanek’s misery began immediately in the seventh. Brice Turang singled leading off and Joey Ortiz’s bloop double put runners on second and third with one out. Sal Frelick hit a grounder to Francisco Lindor with the infield drawn in, but the shortstop’s only play was to first base, allowing the Brewers to tie it 4-4. Isaac Collins’ ensuing grounder off Mauricio’s glove brought in the go-ahead run.
“It’s an in-between hop, but it’s a play, he’s a good defender and we have seen him make plays like that and tougher plays,” Mendoza said. “He wasn’t able to complete that one.”
The offensive highlight for the Mets was Pete Alonso’s 252nd career homer that tied him with Darryl Strawberry for first place on the franchise’s all-time list. Starling Marte and Juan Soto also went deep.
Montas followed opener Reed Garrett and threw 72 pitches over three innings in which he allowed three runs (two unearned) on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Gregory Soto and Tyler Rogers each pitched a scoreless frame before the seventh inning implosion.
Alonso led off the second inning with a blast to left center that evened him with Strawberry. The homer was Alonso’s fourth in eight games and gave him 26 for the season. Alonso had tied and moved ahead of David Wright for second place on the club’s all-time list with homers No. 242 and 243 on June 8 in Colorado.
Lindor’s error helped the Brewers score two unearned runs in the third. Montas allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases before Ortiz hit a chopper that kangarooed before skidding off Lindor’s glove. Two runs scored on the play.
After the inning, a disgusted Lindor slammed his glove as he returned to the dugout.
“I wasn’t able to help Montas, and in that inning right there, he executed,” Lindor said. “He made a pitch to come out with a clean inning and I wasn’t able to finish the play for him. He’s a guy that has been going through it and I wanted to be there for him.”
Marte’s second homer in as many games tied it 2-2 in the third. Marte, who was thrown out at home plate to end the previous night’s game, jumped on a four-seam fastball from Tobias Myers and cleared the right field fence.
Cedric Mullins’ RBI single in the fourth gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. Jeff McNeil’s double began the rally and Francisco Alvarez walked before Mullins delivered, for his first RBI with the Mets. But the rally died with Lindor grounding into an inning-ending double play.
The Brewers countered in the bottom of the inning on Turang’s second homer in as many games. Turang’s solo blast against Montas tied it 3-3, but the right-hander recovered to get the final two outs before he was replaced for the fifth.
Soto homered leading off the fifth to give the Mets a 4-3 lead. It was homer No. 28 for Soto and his third in as many games, including his blast against Cleveland on Wednesday that served as the only Mets hit.